Tuesday, August 24, 2010

The Curse Of The Bad Sleepers

Yes, it feels like a curse right now. Aaron was a horrible sleeper as a baby and while Adrian scored 100% for sleeping as a newborn, he has gradually dropped to the very bottom of the class. I've come to dread the evenings and nights.

Adrian falls asleep very easily. Its staying asleep that he doesn't know how to do. He doesn't wake to play or feed. He just wakes. For all I know, he could be waking for a cuddle! From the time he goes to bed at around 7.30pm, I attend to him every 30-45 mins until around midnight where he sleeps 2 hour stretches. And, each "attend" can be anything from a 1 minute pat on the back to a 60 minute sobbing session as he tries to go back to sleep. The worst part of it all is that I am the only person that can go in to him. If Richard goes in, he falls apart and its even harder for me to get him to sleep again.

I have seriously been considering "Ferberizing" him. Y'know, the cry-it-out method. I gave a go a couple of months ago but it seemed to halt all of Adrian's development and interaction with us so I stopped. This method just doesn't sit right with me but I am getting desperate.

So far, I have been trying the methods from Elizabeth Pantley's "No Cry Sleep Solution". There has been minimal crying but no sleep either. *sigh*

Why me? Why me? Why me?

The only consolation I have is that things were like this with Aaron but at this very moment, he is asleep in his bed and will stay that way until 6am tomorrow. He started getting good at around three years of age so I only have another two and a half years to go with Adrian (!!!).

I'm here to remind myself that things felt a lot easier with Aaron once I accepted his sleep patterns. I will still try my best to fix this tiring situation but all I can do is my best. If it remains this way, I'll just have to live through it.

2 comments:

I'll certainly be trying the cry it out method with this next baby eventually when I have to. We did it a little with Isabella and now she knows not to play up and get her way.

My mum is here now and has put her to sleep twice already. She doesn't even stay in the room with Isabella as long as Scott. And she just goes straight to sleep no prob. Phew! I was so worried that she might not get her sleep when i go to deliver. But now that worry has been relieved. Now, I worry about her feeding. She feeds the best with me. Scott says that if she's hungry, she'll end up eating. I just hope she's not constipated and shrivelled when I get home from the hospital. Lol.